hard drive problem

[Guest]

I have an old computer system from the early 90's. After removing all the
components and cleaning the dust off of all components, i booted up my
computer and it wasnt detecting the hard drive. I went into the BIOS and i
entered all the data reffering to the hard drive and I tried to format it. I
keep getting an error message that says " Hard Disk Controller Failure" Is
there anything i can do to fix this problem? Or do i need a new hard drive?
If i need a new hard drive, is it even possible to buy one anywhere
considering its a computer from the early 90's. ?

 

[Hugh N. Ross]

I need a little more information. Is the drive adapter a plug-in card or
built in the mother board?
If it is a card, you could replace it. If it is on the mother board, you
would be well advised to buy a new computer.
If the drive is an IDE type, you could attach it to some other computer to
test the drive and recover your information.
Hugh

 

[Guest]

Its a plug in card, but if i need to replace it, would that be difficult to
do, seeing as it is a computer from the earliy 90's? and it ran windows 3.1?
This isnt my real computer, just an old junker that i had way back when. I
kind of just ripped it apart and cleaned it without documenting anything. It
would be sweet if i could get it going thats all. Even if it belongs in a
museum. Lol it even has the really OLD floppies, not the 3 1/2" but the 5
1/4" anyway, if its not fixable, ill use it as my doorstop. Thanks Hugh.

 

[Thingy]

Its a plug in card, but if i need to replace it, would that be difficult
to
do, seeing as it is a computer from the earliy 90's? and it ran windows
3.1?
This isnt my real computer, just an old junker that i had way back when. I
kind of just ripped it apart and cleaned it without documenting anything.
It
would be sweet if i could get it going thats all. Even if it belongs in a
museum. Lol it even has the really OLD floppies, not the 3 1/2" but the 5
1/4" anyway, if its not fixable, ill use it as my doorstop. Thanks Hugh.

<snip>

If it doesn't have a 3 1/2" drive in it at all, there's a good chance that
the drive might not be IDE - check the drive to see if it says anything -
or if it's labelled at all! If the drive is IDE, then you should be able to
stuff it into a newer PC to check, as the Hugh suggested. If it's
some oddball, like MFM or propriatory, then you could put the
card (if it is ISA-based) into a newer PC (if it has an ISA slot) and
connect up the drive.

For getting parts for it, you need to have a look on eBay or any local
2nd-hand shops to see if they might have a PC of the same vintage.
If the drive turns out to be IDE, getting a controller card is still
possible - you can still get them brand new!

 

[Mark Barrett]

If its the controller on your motherboard you can just by a new controller
card. They are backward compatible